TUC report warns of danger of gender stereotyping in the workforce

Traditional male dominated jobs such as manufacturing will remain the preserve of men, with women opting for jobs as care assistants and waitresses unless the Government acts to challenge the stereotypes of jobs for the boys and jobs for the girls, warns a new report released today.

Young at heart?’, by the TUC, shows how the UK’s teenagers are mirroring the wider workforce in their choice of career, with gender segregation just as apparent among young people as it is with their older workmates.

Fourteen per cent of young men aged 16 and 17 work in manufacturing, compared to just 6 per cent of young women. Public service jobs account for 10 per cent of the employment of young women, compared to just 4 per cent of young men.

The report, which will be launched at a policies for young people seminar this morning, also shows that deep-rooted inequalities in pay and employment prospects begin from day one of their working lives. Teenage girls earn 16 per cent less than their male counterparts and unemployment among young people from ethnic minorities is much higher than for white youngsters.

The report recommends that the Low Pay Commission considers abolishing the exemption of apprenticeships from the National Minimum Wage.

Commenting on the report, TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Unions have spent years tackling low pay, yet inequalities that begin on the first day young men and women start work persist. Until more is done to address the images of jobs for the boys and jobs for the girls, the equal pay gap will not go away.”